Customer application power requirements continue to grow as the need for more features, functions, and capabilities only increase the devices’ power supply needs. At the same time, there are more sources of power available (offline, batteries with many types and configurations). As the power sources change and the load requirements change, it is the job of power conversion devices to reconcile the capabilities of the power sources with the needs of the load. Microchip offers a broad range of power conversion solutions, from simple LDO’s to fully-digital, dsPIC-based power conversion architectures. The MCP1632 PWM controller provides a small, simple, cost-effective power conversion solution targeting mid-power (5-100W) sized solutions. Its low-side driver supports a wide variety of power conversion topologies. It can support step-up (boost) voltage conversion, as well as buck-boost applications (where the load voltage may be higher and lower than the input voltage range). The primary switching device (MOSFET) is external, allowing it to be scaled to the application needs (to satisfy voltage and power requirements, as well as the target efficiency). Finally, this is a standalone, analog-based solution, which eliminates the need/complexity of an MCU (and removes its associated firmware), as well as fits in a small footprint. This makes it an ideal solution for high-performance, cost-effective step-up power conversion applications.